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| There we are! Just to the right of the fire extinguisher. |
An absolutely beautiful day in our own little Bernardo Winery, blessed with the presence of Ginger and saddened by the absence of Terry, we gathered to discuss mortality. Ironically, mired with caring for her mother's recent fall and subsequent surgery, Terry expressed her wish that Gawande could be the physician in charge of her mother: "doctors think of the body as a machine to be fixed versus a person"...and stating that "doctors need to be trained more on the end of life care".
Who can't wait to talk about death? Atul Gawande explores the reality of mortality, the failure of the body with old age... but he cuts to the chase... what to sacrifice for a future. The goal of hospice is to have the best possible that you can. One good day? Fight or give up? Appreciating his illumination of truth and expectation, while realizing what we have personally experienced so far, the path to mortality is indefinable in any general sense. The end result is indisputable as our drive to live over-shadows the inevitable and leaves us stranded with difficult decisions.
Here is a nice lecture by Gawande based on his book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mviU9OeufA0
Up next, Fatima Farheen Mirza's "A Place for Us".
Having recently introduced Everett and Olivia to the music of 'Westside Story', thanks to the magic of Alexa, I gave them a brief young person's guide to the plot. (The dancing around my kitchen island runs the gamut with The Beatles, 'The Nutcracker', etc., and of course "Who let the dogs out" etc.) Before even starting Mizra's book, I had the beautiful song, "There's a Place for Us" in my mind. And there it is the Romeo and Juliet framing of a story once again.
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| Fatima Farheen Mizra |
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| Sarah Jessica Parker - as the librarian |
TG and I have lamented and scratched our heads about Reece's approval stamp and here is one I'd never noticed until researching our current read. None other than Sarah Jessica Parker has thrown her tiara? cowboy hat? into the ring of imprints. Check this out:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/books/sarah-jessica-parker-first-book-acquisition-ala-book-club-pick.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article®ion=Footer
Happy reading!
LK
